The top 5 comic strips for designers

By Tom May
published

Tired of taking your working life too seriously? Then it's time to puncture the pomposity!

Have you ever felt like you were the only designer in the world who has to put up with idiotic clients, irritating colleagues, dreadful bosses or terrible software? Well, you're not - and the proof is in these rib-tickling comic strips.

All of them document the designer's life in a way that gets to the heart of the matter, and all will reassure you that the madness you have to put up with in your working life is by no means unique to your situation....

01. Freelance Freedom (opens in new tab)

A regular comic on Freelance Switch (opens in new tab), Freelance Freedom is full of wry observations and cringe-worthy moments that poke a stick at the trials and tribulations of the design world. A must-read for anyone who's struck out on their own and doesn't take their profession too seriously.

02. The Brads (opens in new tab)

The Brads is the best comic strip for web designers around. Cartoonist Brad Colbow (opens in new tab) brings the idiosyncracies and idiocies of the web world to hilarious life - you can see the archives here (opens in new tab).

03. My life as a cartoon (opens in new tab)

Ken Reynolds is a freelance graphic designer whose cartoons do a neat line in reflecting back the reality of his working life. And anyone who's worked as a freelance designer will soon recognise the commonplace annoyances and insanities that he documents in hilarious fashion. Note that Ken's recently had a baby, so the most recent strips are understandably centred on this life-changing event.

04. Web Designer Depot (opens in new tab)

Web Designer Depot is a great resource for web designers, and its weekly comic strip hits the spot every time.

05. Koposky (opens in new tab)

Kopsoky is a wry look at the life of different characters in an IT company, including 'The Admin', 'The Backoffice Assistant', 'The Copywriter', 'The Designer', 'The Developer', and 'The Intern'. If you work in web design and you don't find this observational humour strikes a chord, you're probably doing it wrong.

Seen a great comic strip aimed at designers? Tell us about it in the comments!

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Tom May
Tom May

Tom May is an award-winning journalist and editor specialising in design, photography and technology. Author of the Amazon #1 bestseller Great TED Talks: Creativity (opens in new tab), published by Pavilion Books, Tom was previously editor of Professional Photography magazine, associate editor at Creative Bloq, and deputy editor at net magazine. Today, he is a regular contributor to Creative Bloq and its sister sites Digital Camera World, T3.com and Tech Radar. He also writes for Creative Boom and works on content marketing projects. 

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